John Rooke - Thinking Out Loud

John Rooke - Thinking Out Loud

Thinking Out Loud…while wondering if I’ve got time to head back to school to work on my “X’s and O’s”…

• I’ve heard this week from a couple of places that 6-9 NC State transfer Tyler Harris to PC is a very strong possibility. So is 7-1 center Jordan Dickerson, a Brooklyn kid who prepped in Florida last year, and would be eligible to play right away. He says the Friars are who he likes best “right now.” But kids will be kids, so stay tuned…

• Florida State’s making noise about moving to the Big 12 might seem like justice served to the Big East-poaching ACC, but in reality, it isn’t. In fact, if FSU departs, there will be a run on lip balm in Storrs. UConn will firmly plant its’ lips on the back-side of Boston College…in the hopes of joining the ACC. Count on it…

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• Additionally, the Big 12 would then have to consider another school to even things out at 12 members. Louisville, hello…

• Just goes to show you, it doesn’t take long for things to change these days. One year ago, it was the Big 12 on the brink of extinction, as Texas A&M contemplated its move to the SEC, and Texas and Oklahoma considered the PAC-12. Now…the Big East, again?

• However, as the Big East spring meetings get underway in Florida this week, some good news as Boise State reaffirmed it's decision to join the league for football. Weird as it may be, the presence of Boise and San Diego State will help even the "basketball schools" when it comes to upcoming TV negotiations...

• Who has made out in the Great Collegiate Exchange of the past few years? The Atlantic-10, that's who. VCU and Butler, replacing Temple (Big East) and Charlotte (Conference USA) is brilliant, and further solidifies URI’s home as a basketball-centric league…

• Hmmm…sounds like something the Big East should have considered…

• RIC basketball coach Bob Walsh’s tweet on Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett this week: “With 7 shutout innings Beckett could be on a plane to St. Andrew's to play the Old Course right now and no one would give a damn.” So true…

• Four words for the Sox against Philly…Please. Light. Up. Papelbon….

• Did anyone really think that the Patriots’ Wes Welker wouldn’t sign his franchise tender? For $9.5 million? The Patriots knew he would…and the real negotiating should begin now…

• This week’s “I feel old” sign…former BYU quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, who I covered playing high school football at San Antonio Southwest High School, will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Congrats Ty. Pass the Geritol…

• And thanks for the reminder. My buddy Statbeast sez once you get over the hill, you pick up speed…

• Stupid is as stupid does…hey, Rhode Island. As long as you’re willing to help Curt Schilling and his 38 Studios out, don’t forget the other businesses out there struggling. Oh, you can’t throw money at everyone? But isn’t that what you do?

• Want to be a big-time coach? If you’re mediocre-to-lousy at playing sports, certainly not good enough to get past playing in college…get started early on the X’s and O’s…

• Bill Belichick, a tight end at Division III Wesleyan University, tops the salary list for coaches in North America, at $7.5 million…his second straight year at #1. Others? Doc Rivers is tied for 2nd with Mike Shanahan, Jeff Fisher and old friend Pete Carroll…

• Ok, I think I got it. The Jets’ Darrelle Revis thinks Tim Tebow is a born leader. And Bill Belichick is a jerk. Is that about right?

• Mike Krzyzewski says all of the transfers in college basketball aren’t necessarily a good thing for the sport. “It makes rising seniors free agents.” Ya think?

• More than 400 players are transferring within Division I college basketball this year…and now, the new dilemma – what to do about 5th year transfers. Bilal Dixon leaving PC for Towson is an example, but if coaches need a “quick fix” for their team, expect them to start scouring rosters for players who have redshirted…and to “re-recruit” those players…

• The rich get richer…Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is poised to become the nation’s second richest person, behind Bill Gates, now that his IPO has popped. Pretty good for a Harvard drop out…

• How about college hoop coaches? No shock that John Calipari leads the list of highest-paid at $5 million…but Rick Pitino is in the #2 slot at $4.9 million – per year. Jeez, and some fans are still upset that Pitino left Providence? Think he could have made that here? Only if his name was Curt…just sayin’…

• Not for nuthin’…but Pitino’s PC protégé, Billy Donovan, also makes the highest-paid list, coming in at #4 and $3.6 million per year. If Providence College didn’t teach him something, apparently his former head coach did…

• Sign of the apocalypse…a high school junior makes the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. Chicago’s Jabari Parker, the #1 ranked basketball recruit for 2013, is already being called “the next LeBron.” It’s a great story…but he can’t possibly live up to the hype, can he?

• The “next LeBron?” Where’s the first one?

• Tired of the subjective charging calls in basketball? College officials have been told to go back to school to learn what a “legal guarding position” really is, or they can’t ref NCAA games…

• Remember former Patriot and Giant kicker Matt Bahr? My one-time partner on New England Revolution broadcasts says back in his day, doctors used to “joke” about possible concussions on the sidelines, telling the NY Times that he played through a concussion in a playoff game against Chicago. “One of the doctors was joking that they had to hang around me all game with one of those ammonia capsules...”

• Fortunately for Matt, he isn’t currently suffering from some of the same problems that could be plaguing many ex-players…problems that may change the game of football forever…

• Camelot? Seems to me that the Kennedy family, after experiencing another tragedy this week with RFK Jr.’s estranged wife Mary hanging herself, is more like “Nightmare on Elm Street…”

• I wish it, even though it might not happen…but an NBA Finals with the Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder would be a classic “experience vs. youth” match-up. Old school vs. new school. Rock ‘n roll vs. Hip-hop. And for my money, the best veteran “group” (a.k.a. the Big Three) out there against the best player in the game (Kevin Durant)…

• So NFL.com says that Tom Brady is the top-rated player in the league over the age of 35. Is that a little like saying congrats on your graduation – the best years of your life are over?

• What a year it has been for CCRI athletics. Not only does the men’s basketball team play for a national championship, but the baseball team steps into the NJCAA Division II World Series next week in Enid, Oklahoma. Is there something in the Warwick water system? Or maybe it’s just the coaching. First, Rick Harris and hoops. Now, Ken Hopkins’ team is rolling…

• Our mailbag question/comment this week comes from Dave via Twitter: “If you were a recruit, would you commit to a school you had never visited, or to a coach who had never seen you play?” Dave: Highly doubtful. But that’s just me. Kids who “think” they can play at a pro level, and those who have “advisors” yapping in their ears, tend to believe they won’t be at a particular school for four years…so what does it matter? Then when things don’t work out…it contributes to the number of transfers we see today. Coaches are damned for recruiting these kids, and damned if they don’t…

• Interested in having your questions on local RI sports (including the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Send ‘em to me! It’s your chance to “think out loud,” so send your questions and comments to [email protected]. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Follow me on Twitter, @jrooke0722…and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...

• And you’re up early anyway…don’t forget to join us for GoLocal Sports on 103.7 FM, every Saturday from 7:00-9:00 am! Call in (401) 737-1287, or text 850850…and send email to the show - [email protected]